High Court Dismisses Manikai’s Defamation Lawsuit Against Mawarire

• The High Court dismissed lawyer Edwin Isaac Manikai’s application for leave to appeal a previous ruling that struck his urgent defamation case against activist Jealousy Mbizvo Mawarire off the urgent roll.

• Original Dispute: Manikai sought an interim interdict to force Mawarire to remove two X (Twitter) posts from March 31 and April 2, 2026, which he claimed defamed him by linking him to a cash payment to Professor Jonathan Moyo regarding a Constitutional Court challenge.

• Initial Striking-Off (April 9): Justice Esther Muremba struck the original application off the urgent roll because:

  • The articles did not uniquely identify “Manikai” (as 35 relatives share the surname).

  • The interim relief was defective because it was tied to a future damages summons rather than a final court order.

• Grounds for Appeal Rejected: Manikai’s three grounds for appeal were all dismissed:

  1. No hearing required: The judge ruled that Rule 60(18) does not mandate an oral hearing before striking a matter off for lack of urgency based on papers alone.

  2. No defamation finding: The judge clarified her original order made no ruling on the substantive merits of defamation, only on the lack of urgency.

  3. Automatic lapse: The judge found no error in her original reasoning regarding the defective nature of the interim relief.

• Preliminary Objections: The judge dismissed Mawarire’s argument that no appeal lies against a striking-off, affirming that a right of appeal exists under the High Court Act.

• Costs: The judge declined to award costs against Manikai, criticizing Mawarire’s lawyer for raising irrelevant preliminary points instead of engaging with the appeal’s substance.

• Next Steps: The underlying defamation claim is not dismissed; it will now proceed on the ordinary court roll, where it will be argued on its full merits.

Timeline of Events:

• March 31, 2026 – Mawarire publishes the first allegedly defamatory article on his X page.

• April 2, 2026 – Mawarire publishes the second allegedly defamatory article.

• April 2026 (Exact date unspecified) – Manikai files an urgent chamber application for an interim interdict.

• April 9, 2026 – Justice Muremba strikes Manikai’s urgent application off the roll for lack of urgency.

• July 30, 2026 – Justice Muremba dismisses Manikai’s application for leave to appeal the April 9 ruling.

• Ongoing – Manikai’s defamation claim now moves to the ordinary court roll for a merits hearing (date to be scheduled).